Hermione was being forced to choose. Again.
She silently cursed herself when she stumbled over a root from a nearby elm tree. She cursed aloud when she fell over the next out-of-place root. She never used to be one for cursing, it was a habit she'd picked up over the years, to curse when in a state of distress. She was currently distressed and so she cursed again. She hated having to choose; it meant a war with her heart and brain every time. Her brain thought of all the rational things she could/should do in a situation, whereas her heart told her to just go wild for once and actually do what she wants to do. At first she never regretted anything her brain told her to do but then when she started to miss out on the things that were never supposed to be missed; Hermione grew sad and regretful. She wished she could go back and change her mind but that was impossible. So she started to take more risks, not caring what Harry or Ron thought, they didn't even glance at her now that the war was over. All they had wanted her for was so that she could work out what their dumb-ass brains couldn't. So so much for them. She knew they wouldn't get very far in life without her any way. They'd also forced her to choose between them, she chose neither because she didn't want to be torn between their petty squabbles, so she went off on her own and was taken in by the rest of the gang. Her family was lost in Australia, no matter where she looked she couldn't find them, so eventually she gave up. Needing somewhere to live she went to the Weasleys. However, they didn't have the room and Ron and Harry were always there so that was a no go. She ended up asking Neville and Luna, they took her in on the agreement that she pays her part of the rent. Hermione was the librarian at the rebuilt Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It didn't pay as much as she hoped so she got another part-time job as a waitress in a wizard café called 'Seeker's Cupa'. As time passed Hermione realised that she was falling back into the boring old routine that had consumed her at school; work work work sleep, then wash rince and repeat. So she started taking a few more risks. Not when it clashed with work but whenever she had free time. It started with her using her holidays and sick-days and going bunje jumping, or skydiving. Something she'd never normally do. She was only 19 (nearly 20) and so she insisted on riding a bike or the skateboard she had brought on impulse. She was surprisingly good at stakeboarding and so rode it as often as she could. It also made her feel younger then she was.